Starts 1 July 2027/C2026A00064/Read from the authorised Act/Not legal advice; does not certify
Competition and Consumer CheckerThe Act, section by section
Section 48A(2)Held as a control

Drip pricing: what must be shown

When a supplier displays a base price for goods or services ordinarily bought for personal, home or household use, it must also show four things for each transaction based charge: the amount or the method of calculating it, that it is per transaction, whether it is or may be payable, and whether the base price includes it.

Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026, Schedule 1, Part 2, item 15, section 48A(2)Starts 1 July 2027Part 2: drip pricing
The requirement

Display the four required pieces of information for every transaction based charge attached to the supply. The duty is triggered by displaying a base price, and it applies each time the base price is displayed.

Who it binds. A person in trade or commerce who offers to supply qualifying goods or services and displays a base price. The exception is an offer made exclusively to a body corporate.

Operative term. transaction based charge

What this means in practice

The duty is not satisfied by a footnote at the end of the checkout. It is triggered at each point the base price appears, so the same information has to travel with the price through the journey. A booking fee that is known at the first screen must be shown at the first screen. A fee that depends on the payment method or the basket still needs the method of calculation and a statement that it is per transaction. The four items are cumulative, not alternatives. A page that says "plus fees" has not shown the amount, the method, whether the fee is payable or whether the base price includes it.

How to test it

Take a screenshot of every screen that displays a base price. On each one, find the charge information and check the four items. If the charge is not quantifiable, the method must be stated. If the charge may not be payable, say so. If the base price already includes it, say so. If the screen changes the base price, repeat the check, because the Act applies each time the base price is displayed. A checkout that only shows the fee at payment fails the test.

Evidence to keep

The Act does not prescribe these records. They are the artefacts our reading says a regulator or auditor may ask for; keep the ones that fit your business and the provision.

  • Price screen inventoryEvery screen that displays a base price, with the charge information shown on it.
  • Fee scheduleThe transaction based charges, the calculation method and the circumstances in which each is payable.
  • Checkout recordingA recording of a full purchase showing the price and the charge information at each step.
  • Copy approvalThe approved wording for each of the four required items, with the date and owner.
  • Exception fileThe evidence that an offer was made exclusively to a body corporate, if the exception is relied on.

What to do first

  1. List every base price display and attach the four-item wording to each one.
  2. Reconcile the fee schedule with what the checkout actually charges.
  3. Remove any screen that shows a clean price before a known fee is disclosed.

Questions

When is the duty triggered?
When a base price is displayed for goods or services of a kind normally bought for personal, home or household use. The Act says the duty applies each time a base price is displayed.
Is there a body corporate exception?
Yes. Section 48A(4) says the duty does not apply when only a body corporate is offered the supply, and the person relying on it bears an evidential burden.

Related sections

s 48A(3): How to show its 48A(6): Definitionss 28B(6): Examples